Western States

[dba]

My brother, another friend and I had planned on going to the BMW Owners Rally in Billings in June.  Cancelled, COVID-19.  Then my brother and I were supposed to ride in Scotland, Wales, and England in August.  Cancelled, COVID-19 again. 

 

So finally, a road trip in early September to Yellowstone NP, Glacier NP, and Olympic NP then south along the coast and home, taking the scenic routes as much as possible.  Our buddy had never been to that part of the country and we were excited to show it to him.  I had bought a 2009 R1200 GSA in May and this would be a rather good shakedown for it.  First stop was Nampa, ID at my nephew’s house.  He was off in his helicopter fighting fires, but he graciously left a key for us.

 

The next day, we took the Ponderosa Scenic Byway to US 93 then to US 20 near the Idaho National Laboratory, (scary looking place) then to West Yellowstone, where we would spend two days exploring the park.  Lots of bison and elk to see, but no place to stop and get a photo.  Unless we want to join the morons that leave their vehicle stopped in the middle of the lane to get their photos; damn the rest of us.  The canyon and the some of the waterfalls are still as I remember when I was a kid.

 

 

 

After our exploration, another easy travel day on some epic motorcycle roads.  From West Yellowstone, we drove through the park and out the NE entrance onto the Beartooth Highway and then onto Montana Highway 78 to I-90 and our evening in Bozeman.

 

From Bozeman to Kalispell, MT for the evening; another easy, although not very scenic ride.  We stayed on I-90 to US 93 instead of leaving the freeway and taking the state roads up the east side of Flathead Lake.  Won’t make that mistake again.

 

The next day we headed to West Glacier and Glacier NP.  Our original plans had us coming into the park from the east, but the Indian reservations had closed all those entrances.  Once we made it to Glacier NP, they promptly closed it to everyone.  Apparently, it was too crowded.  We had a cup of coffee in West Glacier and made some new plans. 

 

Found some roads, we hadn’t traveled.  Ran along this big lake called Koocanusa, (I think it’s pronounced, Coo-can-oo-sa), for the Kootanai River and the fact the lake sits in both Canada and the USA.  We ended the day in Spokane.  

 

The next day started out great.  Went into the hotel garage where the bike was parked and found a nice note left on mine.  Just another example of the BMW brotherhood.  We cruised up to the Grand Coulee Dam and then up along the North Cascades Scenic Byway and finished the day in Burlington, WA.

 

The next morning, we took the ferry from Coupeville to Port Townsend so we could avoid a lot of time on the road getting into Olympic National Park.  It was my first time there and it is beautiful.  And big.  Most of our ride today was within the park boundary.  We finished our sea and land adventure in Grand Mound, WA.  I’d never heard of it, but it’s nice when the hotel you stop at recognizes you. 

We knew the next day would be mostly droning on the I-5 when we were planning this trip.  What we weren’t expecting was the effect the fires in the west would be.  We stopped for fuel in Salem, OR at noon and it looked like evening.  It would clear and get bad again.  What looked like dirt on the bikes was actually ash.  A blanket of smoke lay over Roseburg, OR when we took a break to get out of it for a little while.  Something as simple as raising the visor on your helmet to scratch an itch on your nose, would flood your eyes with ash.  We finished the day in Crescent City, CA.  Going to sleep with the sounds of sea lions barking outside the room is worth it. 

 

So that’s it then.  From the 10:00 am scene climbing out of Arcata on Highway 299 to home.  3600 miles, a dirty bike and loads of memories of an epic trip.  But home is home and it’s the best.       

 

The GSA is a fabulous bike to tour on.  So much lighter and easier to move around than the GTL.  What I did miss from the GTL was the electronic cruise control.  No matter how good a throttle lock you have, and there's two of them on the bike, it's never as good as the electronic.  Other than that, I can't wait to get out there on it again.

 

 

[RandyShields]

Fantastic!  We want more.

[TEWKS]

Nice ride, too bad they closed Glacier on you. 

The Going to the Sun road is something else! 
Next time! 

[dba]

4 hours ago, TEWKS said:

Nice ride, too bad they closed Glacier on you. 

The Going to the Sun road is something else! 
Next time! 

We knew Going to the Sun wasn't a through road, but we were expecting to ride to at least Logan Pass and come back out.  But you're right, next time.  

[mickeym3]

Love riding out west, when you ride Glacier next time be sure to allot time for Banff and Jasper.  The Icefields Parkway has to be the most amazing ride in North America. COVID botched my second ride to Alaska this year but looking forward to trying again next year with the MOA Rally en route. 

[RPondaRoad]

I love great ride stories like yours.  Thanks for posting this.  

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

Good story.  I recommend 37 along Koocanusa to anyone who will listen.  I had just finished drying out from a Calgary T-storm when I hit it from the north.  Very pleasant higher speed ride.  Glad I'm not one of the very few anymore!

[dba]

17 minutes ago, Danny caddyshack Noonan said:

I recommend 37 along Koocanusa to anyone who will listen.

 

My first time on the road.  It was fabulous.

[Rinkydink]

Wonderful, just wonderful